There’s a definite risk of Buddha image overload in the camera after a visit to Vientiane but it’s worth posting a few from Haw Phra Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

Built in the 1550s, the temple housed an Emerald Buddha image but when neighbouring Siam sacked Vientiane in 1778 it was stolen and taken to Thonburi, the then capital of Siam. The revered Buddha now resides in Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok. The Haw Phra Kaew was also destroyed during the Siamese invasion and rebuilt by the French in the 1920s when they were the colonial power.

Today, Haw Phra Kaew is a museum and has some very enigmatic bronze Buddha images on display around the outside of the main building.  The temple is opposite Vat Si Saket on Setthathirath Road.